Michael Laudrup fears Swansea talisman Michu will be out for three months.

Spanish forward Michu is a major doubt for Sunday’s Premier League home clash against Everton because of a long-standing ankle problem – and faces an operation.

The Swans are waiting for further medical opinion before the 27-year-old goes under the knife.

But boss Laudrup concedes Michu could face a lengthy lay-off after playing at just 80 per cent capacity this season.

Laudrup said: “Michu will need an operation at some stage and we are getting opinions from the doctors right now.

“His ankle gets inflamed and it hurts. He hasn’t trained for two days. He played at Norwich on Sunday, we were off Monday and Tuesday, he trained on Wednesday, but it hurt on Thursday – even walking.

“So it’s not a case of if, it’s when. There are two kinds of operation and we still need some information before we decide. But it’s a decision for the player, not the manager. The worst case is three months.”

That potential absence would strike a major blow for once-capped Michu’s hopes of playing in next summer's World Cup finals, but Laudrup insists the striker only has thoughts on his own welfare and getting back to 100 per cent fitness.

Laudrup, who revealed Garry Monk’s future is also in doubt after failing to recover from a knee injury, added of Michu: “He wants to be fit. He’s not thinking about the World Cup. Even if he is 100 per cent fit, he knows it will be very difficult to get into that squad.

“He’s competing with (Fernando) Torres and (Alvaro) Negredo, (Fernando) Llorente and David Villa. He’s a very important player for us, but he’s just frustrated that he hasn’t been able to perform at his best level because he has played a lot of games at 80 per cent of his physical ability. He’s angry at himself because of the injury.”